BENQ SW270C
BenQ again delivers exceptional value in a pro-level photography monitor, this time a 27-inch QHD resolution display. If you don’t need 4K, the SW270C is a cost- effective solution for image editing and colour management.
A number of product awards over the last couple of years have seen BenQ become a serious competitor in affordably priced pro-level photo monitors, and its new 2K QHD 27-inch panel continues the trend.
If you don’t need – or want – a bigger 4K display, the SW270C represents an excellent starting point for a colour-managed image-editing workflow.
Buying a monitor dedicated to photography used to be an expensive exercise, with only a couple of brands to choose from. Now, though, the market has become much bigger thanks, in part, to the efforts of BenQ. It already had a big reputation in the gaming world, but then decided to get involved in the photo and video editing sectors, quickly gaining a reputation for affordable performance. There’s already been a couple of industry awards for BenQ’s photo monitors, the latest being the PhotoVue SW321C – recently judged the Best Professional Photo Monitor in the 2020 TIPA World Awards.
However, BenQ’s newest offering in 27-inch photo monitors is the SW270C – essentially a 2K QHD version of the 4K SW271. The higher resolution displays may have glamour status right now, but the reality for many photographers is that 2K is more than sufficient for many image editing requirements.
It may sound contradictory, but in terms of evaluating fine detailing in an image, less resolution can actually be more revealing, especially on smaller monitor sizes which result in very high pixels-per-inch (ppi) counts. QHD is a good compromise. That said, video is a different story, but the SW270C has primarily been designed with photographers in mind.
It’s a direct successor to the SW2700PT (itself an award winner), but benefits from advances in display panel technologies – particularly in the uniformity of both colour reproduction and brightness – and an expanded function set thanks to more recent features such as a Type C USB connection. Physically, the SW270C is the same as all BenQ’s current SW series monitors, featuring ultra-thin bezels, matte screen face (to minimise glare and reflections), dark grey finish and easy-to-assemble stand. The baseplate is now bigger, taking up a bit more desk space, but makes for a much more stable, wobble-free setup. The support arm incorporates a carry handle at its top. Putting it all together after unboxing is only a matter of minutes and the unit is supplied with a five-piece modular hood, a generous set of cables, a two-page calibration report and the latest G2 version of BenQ’s ‘Hotkey Puck’. The sturdy stand has a height adjustment range of 15cm and allows for both tilting and swivelling, plus a full 90-degree pivot for a vertical orientation (hence the hood’s modular design so it can be configured either way).
The Hotkey Puck is essentially a wired remote controller that bypasses the various mode buttons on the monitor’s bezel, allowing for easier navigation of the various menus and quicker switching between assigned colour modes. It has its own recess at the base of the stand’s support arm, but can be positioned anywhere. It's like a mouse except with a main rotary-type controller and three user-assignable function keys.
On Display
The display is an IPS type panel with
LED backlighting, with an area of 596.7x335.6 sq mm and a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, translating to
109 ppi. It has 10-bit colour processing that delivers a palette of 1.07 billion, resulting in smoother shading, colour transitions and tonal gradations. And
IPS enables a wide viewing angle of
178 degrees. The response time is 5ms – which is more than fast enough for video applications – and the refresh rate is 60Hz.
In terms of reproducible colours, the SW270C delivers 99 percent of the Adobe RGB colour space (so, obviously, 100 percent of sRGB) and 97 percent of DCI-P3, which is a cinematographic colour space. It’s taking over from sRGB – or, more specifically, its video equivalent, Rec.709 – as the standard for colour reproduction on transmissive displays, including tablets and phones.
As just noted, the monitor is individually calibrated before it leaves the factory, but hardware calibration – via an external colorimeter – can be subsequently performed via
BenQ’s proprietary Palette Master Element software (which is supplied on a CD-ROM). Hardware calibration is generally considered superior to software-based calibration (which also requires a colorimeter), but the latter will still ensure you keep the monitor within specifications over time. As an aside, the USB-C port enables the convenience of a one-cable connection to the computer when performing hardware calibration.
By The Numbers
The SW270C has a 16-bit 3D LUT (Look-Up Table) that enables hardware calibration independent of a computer’s colour management. However, to test this monitor’s performance we ran software-based calibration using the new-generation SpyderX Elite colorimeter from Datacolor (although it’s now supported for hardware calibration in the latest version of the PME software).
DisplayCal’s scores for colour gamut, tone response, white point uniformity, contrast, luminance uniformity, colour uniformity and colour accuracy were all impressive; so the BenQ monitor is definitely punching out a performance well above its price.
A key element is the secondgeneration ‘Uniformity Technology’
– this now works on hundreds of sub-regions across the display so you don’t see any shifts or tints anywhere. Likewise, there are no noticeable variations in brightness either.
There’s a total of 14 colour modes (including three calibration settings), an Advanced B&W mode (with three presets), built-in SD card reader and, for video makers, an HDR mode supporting HDR10 inputs. Very handy is a feature called ‘GamutDuo’ which works in the monitor’s picture-by-picture (PBP) display and provides mirrored images in two different colour spaces.
Better still, each image is fully adjustable independently. Normally, this is something that would need two monitors side- by- side to achieve, so it’s a much more convenient option ( as well as being a lot less costly).
The Verdict
BenQ continues to steadily improve its photo monitor offerings, both in terms of the overall build quality and the display performance.
The Benq SW270C looks and feels very well made while the QHD display delivers accurate colour reproduction with excellent panel uniformity.
In particular, performance in the Adobe RGB colour mode is exemplary and, certainly at this display size, the resolution is arguably more workable for many photographers than 4K.
Better still, the SW270C calibrates well, which unlocks more performance potential, and the conveniences of the hotkey controller and the USB- C port enhance the overall functionality and operational efficiency. And 27 inches is a good screen size for many smaller working spaces.
All this is topped off by excellent affordability for what is definitely a pro- grade colour- accurate monitor with the potential to make a valuable contribution to a colour- managed workflow.